Religion, Dynasty, and Patronage in Early Christian Rome, 300}}}900 [Hardcover]

Discusses the transformation of Rome in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.Discusses the transformation of Rome in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. While traditional studies have focused on the rise of the papacy in the transition from the ancient world to the Middle Ages, in this book the newly Christianised senatorial aristocracy is discussed.Discusses the transformation of Rome in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. While traditional studies have focused on the rise of the papacy in the transition from the ancient world to the Middle Ages, in this book the newly Christianised senatorial aristocracy is discussed.Traces the central role played by aristocratic patronage in the transformation of the city of Rome at the end of antiquity. It moves away from privileging the administrative and institutional developments related to the rise of papal authority as the paramount theme in the city's post-classical history. Instead the focus shifts to the networks of reciprocity between patrons and their dependents. Using material culture and social theory to challenge traditional readings of the textual sources, the volume undermines the teleological picture of ecclesiastical sources such as the Liber Pontificalis, and presents the lay, clerical, and ascetic populations of the city of Rome at the end of antiquity as interacting in a fluid environment of alliance-building and status negotiation. By focusing on the city whose aristocracy is the best documented of any ancient population, the volume makes an important contribution to understanding the role played by elites across the end of antiquity.Introduction Kate Cooper and Julia Hillner; Part I. Icons of Authority: Pope and Emperor: 1. From Emperor to Pope? Ceremonial, space, and authority at Rome from Constantine to Gregory the Great Mark Humphries; 2. Memory and authority in sixth century Rome: the Liber Pontificalis and the Collectio Avellana Kate Blair-Dixon; Part II. Lay, Clerical, and Ascetic Contl3